The automotive industry is perhaps one of the largest industries in many industrialized regions of the world. As a result, the market for used vehicles has evolved into a substantial market, especially in North America, and in particular, the United States and Canada.
Those parties involved in the trading of used vehicles recognize the value of information relating to the used vehicle's history in making a purchasing decision including placing a value on the particular vehicle. Consequently, services have been created that function primarily to provide vehicle history information to various parties in the used vehicle market, including dealers and individual consumers. For example, Carfax, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, provides a variety of vehicle history information to both buyers and sellers of vehicles. In particular, Carfax offers a web site at www.carfax.com™, permitting a potential buyer of a vehicle to purchase a vehicle history report containing an extensive collection of information on a particular vehicle. For example, the vehicle history report includes such vehicle history information as model year, odometer readings, accident information, the existence of salvage and/or flood titles and maintenance records.
Perhaps one of the most important pieces of information to a potential buyer about a used vehicle is the number of prior owners. Vehicle owners have varied and unpredictable driving habits and maintenance practices. Therefore, the greater the number of owners, the greater the likelihood that the vehicle has problems, such as hidden damage or excessive wear, due to, for example, aggressive driving and/or poor maintenance. Moreover, a vehicle owned by only one individual throughout the vehicle's history is more likely to have been cared for by the owner to maximize dependability, appearance and resale value, especially during a long ownership period.
Therefore, there exists an unfulfilled need for a system and method for generating vehicle history records that accurately and effectively determines whether a transfer of ownership of a vehicle occurred during its history. This allows accurate determination of the number of owners of the vehicle. There further exists an unfulfilled need for such a system and method that adjusts the value of a vehicle based on the number of owners.